


the hunter.

by sonofapunk



Category: My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, The Used
Genre: Adventure, Drama, M/M, Psychology, Romance, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:27:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22819243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonofapunk/pseuds/sonofapunk
Summary: Frank works for the Company, whose main goal is to provide "justice" using some weird ways. This time Iero must go to Venice as the best employee of the Company to solve some big problems. But he has to work with a team. And he hates team-working... Because he remembers what happened before. With that fucking Way.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Comments: 7
Kudos: 10





	1. 1. the beginning.

“Frank, tell us why exactly you’ve started working with Way?” somebody asks and the hole bar starts to giggle in excitement.

Frank smiles with the corners of his mouth and lights a cigarette. He walks over to the bar and leans against it, casually straightening his hair and taking a drag. Then he slightly squints, trying to remember how exactly that happened. An expression of longing passes over his face for a moment, which he shrugs off as he begins to talk.

“The Boss once called me over and said that I just have to try to work with someone at least once. A very talented guy as she said,” says Iero, making quotes with his fingers, which makes everyone around him giggle softly, and he again replays all the memories associated with Gerard in his brain.

"But he was good," says a woman somewhere nearby Frank.

He looks up at her, trying to remember where he’s seen her face. He just nods and takes another drags as soon as he realizes that there’s no chance to remember her name.

“They both are the legends of the Company!” these words make everyone burst into applause as it seems to relate to the Company. You just have to applause if you talk about the Company _that_ way.

He smiles sheepishly and nods as he leaves the bar that the Company has rented for tonight. He is tired of listening to their enthusiastic voices and answering stupid questions, and the memory of Gerard has reminded him about the days he wishes he’s forgotten. He decided to go home away from the crowd of these unfamiliar people.

Technically, he did what he was asked to do, showing up at the bar at the right time. The fact that he should be there all evening was not stipulated.

He took a last drag on his cigarette and dropped it on the sidewalk, moving toward the car. Snapping the alarm key, he sat down in the car and let out a deep breath as the memories came flooding back. He shook his head, not wanting to go on with it, started the car, and drove off. Frank drove with little thought of what he was doing. He was looking out of the window, but less on the road.

At one of the traffic lights, he had been delayed longer than planned, so now he was looking at passers-by walking in both directions right in front of his hood. Then his gaze fell on the hooded man, who was walking faster than the others. Frank felt electricity coming down his spine.

No. It can’t be _him_.

Goosebumps began to run up and down his shoulders, and before he could even think, his hand’s opened the car door, while his feet’s darted toward the figure of the guy who’s already moved forward on the sidewalk.

“Hey!” he ran to him, grabbing his shoulder, feeling a surge of excitement in the pit of his stomach, “Gerard?”

The guy abruptly turns and throws the hand off his shoulder. He looks at Frank, startled.

Iero's insides collapsed. It’s _not_ him. Those eyes having nothing in common with Way’s.

"I'm sorry, I got it wrong," Frank says awkwardly. Apparently, he scared the guy so much that he can't spell a word.

Frank turns and walks towards the car. The cars behind are already honking at him. He curses and gets into the car, starting abruptly. Now he's mad at himself.

“Gerard? Frank, you're crazy," he mimics himself, maneuvering between other cars.

When he finally arrives at the multi-story building where his apartment is located, Frank takes a deep breath. The whole evening had reminded him of the past too many times. About the past, which he has been trying to forget for a long time. He did not like the fact that these memories still evoke vivid emotions in him. It shouldn't be like this, and he's not happy with himself.

In the elevator Frank looks at his tired face, shaking his head at the reflection. He decides that he's had enough and it's time to stop it. When he enters the apartment, he takes off his leather jacket, tossing it on a chair, and then stops, glaring at the sofa in front of him.

_“Frank, a coffee, please!” Gerard splashes his hands theatrically as he plops down on the sofa. Frank raises an eyebrow, looking at him with some irritation._

_"Iero, I won't work without coffee, so make it for me. If I knew where you keep your things at, I could handle it myself."_

_Frank grumbles and goes into the kitchen, listening to Gerard's endlessly enthusiastic chatter as he prepares coffee for both of them._

As Iero replays this memory in his head, he smiles in spite of himself, then slaps his forehead in exasperation. It's time to _stop_. He almost growls with anger at himself and goes to the bathroom to stand under a hot shower for about half an hour or even longer. Then, feeling tired, which is suddenly piled on him with a huge load, he goes to the bedroom to fall into bed and sleep until morning. On the way to the room, he gives the sofa the middle finger, trying not to look in its direction.

The morning begins like any other: with a review of the news summary, thinking about the plan for the day, checking messages from the Boss and coffee. Today, he needs to meet with the Boss and discuss further tasks that Iero will have to perform, so he goes to headquarters.

At the street, as always, he lights a cigarette, frowning around the neighborhood and people scurrying to and fro. Before such meetings, he is always too tense, because he never knows exactly what his next task will be. The thing is that his work can be both simple and terribly complex, and sometimes even extremely dangerous. And Frank never knows exactly what of those three will it be next.

The last trip to Romania was successful because all that was needed was to establish contacts with the right people, who in the future could become coordinators for expanding The company's influence. He had to visit the local mafia, politicians, and even active fighters for justice. Recruiting was the easiest task for Iero, and he always did it perfectly. So it was more like a vacation than a real job.

But he doesn't know what the Boss wants this time. And today he is more excited than usual. And the excitement is not joyful, as always before, it’s better to say he’s worried. He wants to make it as soon as possible. So he's moving to headquarters.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York is one of the most recognizable places in the city. Apparently, the Company was guided by the principle of "hide in a visible place" when it decided to set up its headquarters right under the Museum. Frank seemed to see this white, oddly shaped building for the thousandth time. At the entrance, as always, he smiles at the guards, who nodded in response and then goes to the service entrance, which leads to a narrow corridor with gray walls.

The sound of the elevator's arrival jerks Frank out of his thoughts and he straightens his jacket and goes inside. A minute's ride in the elevator seems to be an hour long. This is his least favorite moment. Expectation. Frank does not like to wait at all, preferring to speed up the process as much as possible, because time is expensive for him.

He exhales deeply as the elevator doors open and enters the darkroom as always. This room sometimes seems huge to him, and sometimes quite tiny. The thing is that it only highlights the path that Iero must follow to get to the Office. The light is too bright, so he squints. Everything else outside this path is so dark that trying to see anything is just stupid. Frank's already tried, so he knows for sure.

And now he is almost at the Office, which is essentially a completely transparent room made of glass. Frank needs to sit down at the dark wooden table, which always stands right in the middle. As soon as he does this, he hears: “You’re not even late,” a soft female voice sounds like everywhere.

It is impossible to say where exactly its source is located. Frank smiles politely and nods in response to the remark.

“I tried," he thinks for a moment, " Very excited about the new assignment.”

"Oh, can't wait to get started? Frank, you know that for your zeal and endless dedication, we are ready to honor you endlessly," every word is uttered with special tenderness and condescension, but he still hears the hardness that breaks through literally every syllable and nods again, "We even forgave you for missing him," with these words, Frank clenches his teeth, trying to maintain self-control, "That much does the Company appreciate you. Remember that.”

“I'm grateful for that," he says politely, looking at the glass in front of him. He doesn't know where the Boss is, so he patiently looks at his own reflection, trying to make it clear that he wants to get it over with quickly.

“This time my request will be a little strange,” she breaks off, waiting for Frank's reaction, but he only frowns, “You will work in a team-” she stops again, knowing that she will hear in response.

Frank takes a deep breath and answers, gritting his teeth: “I won't. Work. With someone –” he spits out every word, trying not to say too much, "I'm working…”

“Alone. Yes, Frank, I know that. But the practice has shown that you are more effective when interacting with other people. Plus, the job will be too hard for you alone. So I insist.”

Frank knows he can't change her mind, but it's worth a try. Because even the idea of working in a team terrifies him.

“I refuse. You’ve just reminded me how it ended that time, why are you contradicting yourself? You probably have more work to get done, so think of something else. I'm not going to work with the team," Iero says, crossing his arms stubbornly.

“That case with Mr. Way is exceptional, you know that. Frank, this is extremely important to the Company. There's a lot at stake. You have to take it up.”

He shakes his head. This is his last attempt, although he is almost certain that he will have to agree to her terms. Judging by her tone, it's really serious. And Frank is ready if it's really that important.

"Frank, I can't force you. Or rather, I don't want to force you. You're the only one who can do the main thing in this operation," he turns away, biting his lip, weighing the pros and cons, "Frank. Salvation for the sake of people."

The fleeting threat in her speech makes him take the obvious decision for both of them. Sighing, Iero continues: “People for the sake of salvation. I agree. What should I do?”

“We know that there are some people in Venice who want to reveal us. This is unacceptable because then all our plans will not be able to be fulfilled. And you know what it's going to lead to," he nods, " So you're going to have to go there and solve this problem. You will have our programmers with you to get inside information, also Bert and Brandon to help with the final phase of the operation. As always, the rest of the data is on the disk.”

Frank opens the table drawer and picks up the flash drive, tucking it into the inside pocket of his jacket. He also tries to remember who Bert and Brandon are and remembers that he hates both of them.

“Starting today.”

“Yes, ma’am. Salvation for the sake of people.”

"People for the sake of salvation," the voice fades away with the last word, and Frank gets up to leave the Office.

He goes to the street, and all the way thinks about the upcoming task. Team? He's been forced to work with someone again, and it doesn't seem to end well, given what kind of work they're going to do, and who's on his team. Who is going to rent out the Company? It has a lot of leverage, why can't they settle it easier? Why should he, the most valuable employee of the entire staff, go? All this seems too strange and frightening. And the excitement is still here. So when he leaves the Museum building, he takes a deep breath.

“Let’s work.”


	2. Brendon and Bert. And Ray.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'd be thankful for your comments or anything.

Now Frank is overwhelmed by the idea of going to Venice with these two jerks. He’s not sure they actually are jerks, but their names seem to be stupid, so he thinks that only jerks can be named as Brandon and Bert. 

He’s now curious about who they actually are and if he has ever met them. So as soon as he gets into the car, he starts to look over the files on the flashcard Boss’s given to him. 

The first thing he notices is that Ray Toro is on the team as well. He knows that guy because he’s helped him with some hacking stuff earlier and he’s even talked to him twice at the headquarter. Frank is sure he is smart as hell, so he’s okay with that. 

Next is Brendon: a photo of him smiling way wider than he should as this is a profile photo, dark-haired, quite handsome - all that tells Iero that his going to be the biggest splinter in his ass. Frank sighs and mumbles ‘idiot’, scrolling down the page. 

Bert MacCracken. This guy seems to be tuff. It’s like he’s ready to beat your ass at any moment or at least to spot in your face. Iero finds that interesting enough to observe in the future. It will be exciting to see if he’s really that way. 

All in all, Frank is quite scared of Urie and interested enough in Bert. He scrolls throughout the given data and finds out that he must get on a plane in a few hours. Seems like it’s time for packing.

Of course, Iero has a special suitcase with everything needed: he got used to spontaneous traveling. So he heads to his flat to change and get it. All his head is full of thoughts about the mission. He’s very curious to find out who on earth decided to bitch up the Company. These guys must be insane. Or they think they're cool enough to do things like that. Or even both. 

He looks at his apartment before leaving it, thinking that he may miss this cozy place if the journey takes too much time.

After he gets in the cab to the airport, all his actions seem to be way more familiar than the should. He’s done that so many times. Like too many. 

So the flight is just as usual as any other flight he’s got. He smiles at the staff way too often and enjoys hours of doing nothing but staring at the window and sleeping. 

He heads to the hotel as soon as he gets off the plane. The room is quite nice, with huge windows and a bed, which is way larger than he needs. That even makes him sad for a moment.

A loud knock on his door stops him from these thoughts. This must be staff, checking on him or something like that. An expression on his face goes from surprised to annoyed in some seconds after he realizes it’s Brendon at his door.

“Hi”, he smiles and even attempts to wave at him, when Frank grabs him inside of the room, shushing at him. The guy is taller than Iero, but that doesn’t mean Frank can’t be stronger.

“The fuck do you want, Urie?”, says Frank in anger. This makes Brendon look at him with a kind of a “sorry” in his eyes.

“I just wanted to be a polite partner as we work together this time, so came to say “hi”. Didn’t mean to bother you or anything”, he scratches his head looking confused.

“Oh, ok. Hi then. You look like someone who can’t keep their mouth shut. So rule number one, we’re not talking about work if we can’t be sure the place is safe. Also, I’m not going to build any friendships with any of you so put your nicety as far as you can”, Urie nods as he decided to be quiet. It seems he’s realized his idea was bad, “ All of you are here?”

“Um, yes, and I wanted to know if we could go eat together or anything to discuss our-”

“Hell, no. Why have you ever thought it’s a good idea to get into my room?” Iero is very irascible so he almost shouts at him, “I’ll text you when we’ll meet. Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re free to do whatever the fuck you want, but don’t try to get in my room ever again! Now, get out”, Frank leads him to the door and shuts it in front of him before he could say anything back.

Now he thinks he was extra with shouting at him, but he’s too tired to be nice. Why the hell this guy thought that coming to him and saying “hi” would be a great idea? Haven’t they received the plan from the Boss? Frank hopes she hasn’t decided that he’s going to lead them all the way through. He’s not a fucking trainer for the youngsters or anything. 

He tries to calm himself as he walks back and forth. Finally, he decides to text all of them to meet up at seven in a bar nearby. His plan is just to drop them all the information he’s got. And also to let them know he’s not going to be nice to them at all. 

So he falls down to the bed as the jet lag makes him feel exhausted. 

The bar seems to be loud and dark, it smells like cigarettes and beer. Frank walks in to see all of the guys sitting at one table and actively discussing something. He attempts to smile at them because sleeping made him feel way better and then sits next to Ray.

“Hey. So how was the flight?” asks Ray with a smile.

“Fucking jetlags, dude”, responds Iero and they all nod in agreement. Then Frank orders a glass of beer. 

They all chat about half an hour and Frank surprisingly acts too friendly because he decided to make contact with them. It doesn’t mean he’s trying to become friends with them. He just needs them to trust him. He finds out Bert is super funny and kind. Brendon…. Well as loud as Iero’s expected. And never stops talking. Ray is the one  _ Frank trusts _ as he knows him more than anybody else here.

It seems to be not that bad. After the beers are finished they start to discuss the plan. It’s safe here because Frank’s chosen local bar which foreigners don’t usually visit, so nobody seems to understand them that well.

“Ok. Tomorrow we need to see the place and find out how to get there”, starts Frank.

“I also should set the stuff for wiretapping”, adds Ray and Frank nods.

“Brendon”, Iero looks at him with a serious face, “You are going. You seem to be too much of a tourist.”

“I should act dumb and annoying?” asks Brendon with a smile and Bert giggles.

“Yes, because it’s your best skill”, Frank smiles back, “Pretend that you don’t know what the building is. We need as much time as you can provide us. Ray works from a distance, we just need your phone in that building.”

Brendon nods and now looks serious. He takes all tasks seriously, even though Frank thinks he’s an idiot.

“The salvation for the sake of people”, he says scowling.

“People for the sake of salvation”, they all answer him.

Tomorrow’s going to be a hard day and they all know it. They get a cab to reach the hotel and then get to their rooms wishing goodnight to each other. Frank now is a little worried about how things will work out tomorrow. He switches on the TV to avoid overthinking and soon falls asleep. 

They all meet up at the hall and send Brendon ahead to the place, while they take another cab to settle up at the nearest coffee shop. They don’t seem suspicious because Ray uses only a laptop to work.

So they sit next to the window right in front of the exit of the building they need. It’s not very tall and looks nice. Some kind of an office and they know that it’s a security company. Soon they see Brendon walking in and that’s when the work starts. Frank’s listening to Brendon through the earpiece as he’s got the microphone under his shirt, Ray’s starting to write the script and Bert looks around for the backup in case it’ll be needed.

“Hi!” Frank hears Brendon’s cheerful voice greeting someone inside and nods to Ray, “Oh, I speak only English”.

Ray nods back as he reached the system. “From two to three minutes”.

So now they need time. Frank repeats the message to Brendon. He talks nonsense to the people inside and tries to be nice finding out about the stuff this company provides.

Frank feels how much they all are worried now. It’s the moment that they can lose everything but at the back of his mind, Iero knows they’re going to make it. He just knows it. He drinks some coffee and says something to Bert not to look suspicious, while Ray furiously taps something. 

“Oh, I can’t get any of these?” Frank hears Brendon's voice louder than before and realizes they’re running out of time.

“Ray?” 

“Thirty seconds and we’re good.”

“Oh, no but maybe you have offices somewhere in the US? These things are amazing!” continues Urie.

“Done”, finally says Ray smiling.

“Get out of there, we’re good”, says Frank to Brendon and hears him saying goodbye, “Now, go to the hotel, we’ll catch up at Ray’s room”.

“Ok, that shit was hard”, replies Brendon leaving the building.

“You were great. Get a cab and stop talking to yourself”, says Frank.

They spend another five minutes at the cafe and head to the hotel. Now four of them sit at Ray’s room waiting for him to show the results of today’s work. Here they can be sure to stay safe as no one can ever secretly listen to you if you have Ray Toro and his computer soft. 

“So we have the plan of the building, also access to the cameras and audio. Seems like this security company’s shitty as I’ve hacked them so fast”, he smiles.

Now they have the plan of the building which makes it easy to get in. Audio and video will let them know where exactly the people they’re looking for are. But most importantly who they are. 

“Seems like we’re 80% done with this shit”, notices Bert and Frank nods to him.

“Now we need to observe. And prepare the plan to get those assholes”, says Frank.

Ray switches on the cameras to look through the rooms. It’s just the usual office. They see people at their tables minding their own business, some of them talking next to the coffee machine in the corridor. They go further. All these rooms look just the same, so they skip them. 

“Here it is”, finally says Ray, “This looks like it’.

And it really looks different. There’s something big attached to the wall, three computers standing on a large table right in the middle and also a bunch of books on a shelf.

“This seems to be a lounge”, says Brendon skeptically. 

Frank scowls as he may be right. There aren’t any signs this room’s used for secret negotiations or anything. He changes his mind as soon as two people walk in aggressively discussing something.

“Oh, let me switch it on”, says Ray and volumes up the audio.

“Hey, we need to make a move! We can’t wait anymore!” says the dark-haired man. He speaks to someone standing with his back to the camera. That guy sighs.

“We aren’t prepared enough, it won’t work yet”, the guy seems to be worried and Frank somehow finds his voice familiar.

_ Too  _ familiar.

“Ok, I was wrong”, says Brendon.

“Wait”, says Iero getting closer to the monitor.

“I mean the Company is strong. I know what I’m talking about”, finally the guy turns around and makes some steps forward, thinking over something, “I’ve been there”. 

Now Frank can see his face. All his guts cringe in horror. No way. It’s impossible. It just can’t be. He feels three pairs of eyes staring at him in surprise as they know this face too. 

“Is this-?” starts Bert hesitantly. Ray whispers “don’t” and Frank still can’t process what he’s seeing.

He thought he’s dead or somewhere in Asia hiding from everything. He could’ve painted flowers in a little house in the middle of nowhere or having a family. Whatever else. Everything but not doing what he’s doing. Frank thought he’ll never meet that guy again. Ever. 

“Yes, Bert”, Iero finally finds an answer, “That’s him. Gerard”.

They've already known the answer, it was more necessary for Frank to admit it. The disturbing pause makes them feel uncomfortable, so Brendon says: “We now just need to collect the information, right? Umm, maybe we can make it to our rooms. I mean, I can’t be useful with these computers anyway. We can start tomorrow”. 

“I agree”, says Bert and now they both look at Frank.

“I record all of that stuff so you really can go”, says Ray while tapping something.

It pulls Frank out of his mind and he says: “Yes, we’ll start tomorrow”.

He doesn’t really remember how he’s got into his room. He just sits on a bed for 5 minutes or more. It was  _ Gerard _ . Fucking Gerard is the coordinator of the group they need to exterminate. Why? It was clear for them both back then that he won’t come back to this ever again. He’s run away forever. 

He still looks the same though. The face is still too pretty not to stare at, the voice that Frank was always annoyed with. He still wears hoodies like it’s the only piece in his wardrobe.

What should Frank do now? Will he be able to make what’s needed? But this is Gee. He just can’t. But he must. The Company's well-being is at stake. 

Was that really him? No, Frank’s sure it’s him. He could  _ never  _ forget his face, even if he wanted to.


	3. The past. Part one.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We have to go back to see what's happened.

“Hey, you are Frank, right?”, asks the young man.

“And you must be Gerard Way. Our newest secret project?” asks Frank back smirking.

“And you are the most talented one over here?” he smiles softly.

“They say so”, Frank shrugged, “I can’t know for sure”.

They look at the eyes of each other for a few seconds and Frank surprisingly notices how beautiful is this newby.

Gerard smiles at him and says: “I’m sure they’re right. So, will you give m a little tour?”

“Umm… I have to? I mean I’m quite busy-”, says Frank scratching his head.

“Yes, Boss said we’re working together now as I’ve done my first thing well.”

Frank's eyes widen in surprise: “What did she say?”

“We’re working together now. Why?”

“Nothing“, Frank almost growls, turning abruptly and walking quickly toward the Office entrance.

A guard stops him at the door.

“Where are you going, Iero?”

“I need to talk to the Boss right now“, Frank says roughly.

The man stops his impulse to go further, but a green lamp lights up abruptly over his head, which Frank points out to him with a frown.

“Okay, you can go now”, the guard passes him.

All this time Gerard stands behind, watching Frank's sudden change of mood with surprise. He looks at the guard questioningly, but the man just shrugs. Then Gerard decides to stay here and wait for Frank because he still needs to get the information.

Frank is literally running down the corridor leading to the Office. His whole being is literally boiling with irritation and he is ready to yell at the Boss literally from the doorstep.

How could she not tell him about this boy? Working together, why would they?

“Hello, Frank”, she says in a soft voice, as he slams back the chair he's sitting on too violently.

“What the hell?”

“I don't know what you're talking about. What happened?”

“This new one", says Iero.

“Oh, Gerard. I wanted to talk about him later, but since you came, let's talk about it.“

“Didn't you want to ask me first?”

“No, I didn't", Iero gasps at these words, “Frank, calm down. This is a project that we have already discussed. Our entry into the media sphere.“

Frank tries to remember what exactly they were talking about and gasps when he realizes that he remembers.

“But it had to be large-scale. It's not just him and I.”

"Gerard is too active, so we thought you two would be enough. There is a problem. He is too principled, and therefore when recruiting I had to omit some nuances. For example, about the methods you sometimes use. He does not accept violence, but his oratorical abilities, and, most importantly, the passion with which he is ready to fight for the right, make him an ideal figure for displaying on screens. He is the only one involved in this project.”

“I thought this takeover of TV broadcasting didn't apply to this project,“ Frank says thoughtfully, recalling what Way did today, “If he's acting alone, then why do you need me?“

“You must protect his maximalism from the truth.”

“Am I a teacher of some kind?“

“Frank, we need him. Either make him accept violence as a necessary sacrifice, or hide it from him.“

“And you had no one else for this role-”

“No, you’re our best employee, it’s obvious that he will respect you.”

Frank snorts, thinking it all over as he taps his fingers on the table.

“Well. It won't take long, will it?”

“Depends on you. He will be with you if we send you somewhere to watch the Company’s work.”

“Good", Frank sighs.

“The salvation for the sake of people”, says the Boss softly.

“The people for the sake of salvation”, answers Frank.

He shakes his head, trying to accept that this red-haired guy is going to be a dead weight on him now.

He'll have to get to know him better since he's so important to the Company.

When he goes out into the hall, he sees Gerard waiting for him on a bench, staring thoughtfully at the people around him. Frank approaches him, but he doesn't seem to notice him.

“Gerard?” Frank calls him.

“Oh, you're back. What happened?” Way looks at him.

“It's alright. You wanted a tour", Gerard nods.

Frank takes him through the hall of the Museum, which is not so important, and tells him about how the Company.

“All you need to know here is the Office you've already been to and probably security guards", Frank nods at one of the men in suits, " When you go in, act like a gallery worker, just go where you need to and that's it. It's always too crowded, so you're safe.”

Gerard chuckles, pointing to the portrait of a man with a beard: “Vincent van Gogh.”

Now he's looking at Frank, who has stopped and is looking at the picture, trying to figure out what he just heard.

“Ah, yes, the portrait of Joseph Roulin", Iero nods, continuing to walking.

“Wait, do you know the name?” Gerard asks, surprised.

“Yes? Is this strange?”

“You don't look like someone who's into art", Way chuckles, looking Frank up and down.

“Really? Don't judge a book by its cover", he grumbles back, “Are we done with this? Because don’t seem to be listening to me.”

“No, it’s interesting how you talk about work... But let's talk about paintings, we're in a Museum", Gerard says, and Frank looks at him dumbfounded.

“What?“

“We're in a Museum, right? So let's talk about the Museum?”

Frank wants to roughly answer him, but then he remembers what the Boss said, and thinks that it might be easier to make friends with him in order to fulfill what she asked him to do.

"All right, let's talk about paintings", he says. It’s not like the idea seems out of place. He hasn’t discussed the paintings with anyone, so it's probably going to be interesting.

Gerard nods with a smile and moves on to another van Gogh painting.

"So you like van Gogh, don’t you?" he asks enthusiastically, pointing to the “Starry Night”, which always has a whole crowd of tourists.

"Yes", Frank says uncertainly.

"He has a beautiful vision of color, don't you think? Just look at these combinations.”

“Not only this. Look at the work with the material’, Frank points to the large strokes, “If you look closely, it seems that the picture lives, they all seem to be three-dimensional because of the strokes.”

Here Iero continues to explain Gerard about van Gogh's compositional solutions and the themes of his paintings, while Way looks at him with an undisguised smile and nods.

"What are you looking at?" Frank asks, frowning when he sees Gerard's look.

"You're very handsome when you talk so enthusiastically about something", he shrugs and moves on. He says these words as if they don't really matter, but Frank is literally frozen now, trying to figure out what he’s just heard.

He shakes his head, assuring himself that he has heard this "handsome" in the noise of voices around and follows him. He would think about this later, but not now.

So for about half an hour, they walk around the halls, stopping at one or another picture, discussing everything they see. Gerard seems to really be into art, and Frank likes that because it's interesting to discuss different artists and their stories with him. He is too excited just about every piece and expects that Frank will share this feeling with him, whereas Frank remembers himself a couple of years ago, when he first started appearing at headquarters and, like Gerard, wandered through the halls, looking at all these art pieces with literally childish delight. He smiles when he thinks that Gerard really does look like an overly happy child when they approach Andy Warhol's work and now it's Gerard's turn to ask Frank a question.

"What are you looking at?" he smiles at him.

“Nothing”, frowns Frank, trying not to look at him while the real answer is playing in his head. "Because you have a beautiful smile". He wides his eyes in surprise when this thought does actually ring in his head.

“I have to go“, he looks at his watch instead, “Work.“

“Oh.”

"We still have things to discuss. When are you free?” he’d love to hear “never " in response, so he looks hopefully at Gerard as he scratches the back of his head thoughtfully.

“Any time tomorrow.“

“I'll drop the details later. Later.” Frank turns and heads to the exit. He resists the urge to turn and look at Gerard again, angry with himself for wanting to.

“See you tomorrow“, Gerard says to the crowd because Frank is leaving too quickly to hear what he's saying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd still love to see more of your comments as this motivates me to write more.


	4. The past. Part two.

New York is the place where the Company is really safe. They’ve got a bunch of places where employees can spend their time without hiding this part of their lives. Bars, coffee shops, hotels. This cafe Gerard’s now entering is one of them.

As soon as he opens the door of the place he sees Frank sitting at the corner of it. He waves at him and Gerard nods, smiling and going to the table.

“Hey”, says Gerard taking a seat in front of him. Frank nods and sips his coffee.

“You want anything?”, he points to the menu with his eyes.

“Sure”, now Gerard’s looking for the waiter turning his head to the counter.

Iero notices him faster so he calls him by waving his hand.

“Large latte, please”, says Gerard to the man. He repeats the order smiling and goes away when Gerard nods in agreement.

Some minutes of awkward silence, which seems to come out of nowhere, start. They try not to look at each other for some reason. Frank’s studying his cup, tapping his finger to the glass, while Gerard’s staring around at the interior of the place. As soon as Way gets his coffee and takes the first sip, the silence gets broken by his “mmhh”. Frank tries not to laugh at him, but it’s obviously too funny not to chuckle. So he does, trying to hide his smile.

“What?” asks Gerard seriously and looking offended.

“You sound like you’ve never had coffee before”, Frank shrugs his shoulders.

“I just like coffee. Maybe too much”, he looks a bit upset by Iero’s reaction.

“Sorry, man. It was funny, okay? I didn’t mean to hurt a coffee lover’s feelings”, Frank looks at his eyes for a moment and then goes back to his cup taking a sip.

“No, it’s fine, I know I can be weird. I guess that’s why they hired me-”, he suddenly stops at the middle of the phrase looking at Frank with a question in his eyes, “Are we allowed to talk about-?”

“Oh, yes, that’s why we are here, actually. The Company has some safe spots in the city and this is one of them. We can talk about whatever we want. And we’re going to talk about work of course. Did you think it was a date or something?” The last sentence was not the one actually wanted to say but now it’s too late. So now he looks a little confused trying to find the words to continue as fast as he can. “Of course you didn’t. So I brought you here mostly to talk about you because I’m interested.”

Gerard decides not to pay attention to Frank’s words about a date and mostly to his reaction on his own words, which was weird, so he asks: “Interested in what?”

“I mean we’ve never had anyone like you before”.

“Like me?”

“Well, it’s like you don’t seem to be their type”, starts Frank, “All the people around here are different. Like me”.

“Like you? What does that suppose to mean? How much am I different from you?”, Frank’s bad at explaining things.

He needs as many words as possible to express his thought and get to its point.

“Let’s say… You’re brighter than the others. You look rebellious. And you are rebellious. Everyone else here looks like they’re ready to beat your ass or as boring office workers. That’s what I mean.”

“Oh, but isn’t the Company ‘rebellious’? as you say?”

“Sure, that’s the point. But when you work here for a long time”, says Frank, “It’s still a job so it becomes a routine. And you’re not that active as you were when you’ve started.”

“I understand. but I don’t think there’s anything special about me”, says Gerard, “I guess I’m not the only one doing what I’m doing.”

“That’s exactly what I’m interested to know. Boss hasn’t told me any details. What have you done today?”, Frank’s eyes now look straight at Gerard’s face trying to read his expression.

He really wants to know that.

“We did… Umm, a TV thing.”

“Tell me what was it”, Gerard looks at him confused, “I mean, dude, no one ever before broke into the news with the message from us!”

“I know. So, of course, I was wearing a mask to protect my personality, they’ve also used something to change my voice… Anyway, I think they let me do that because of my oratorical skills. So I wrote the text on my own, it was about the problems we’re facing. You know it yourself: government fucking with us, environment dying, people being poor and so on”, Frank nods at his words, “But they said I have to give a hint on something big coming. So I did, though they’ve never told me what will it be.”

”Oh”, Frank’s now surprised because he doesn’t know anything about “the big thing” as well.

“Yeah.”

“That’s rad”, Frank smiles at him, “I’m serious about this. It’s amazing.”

“It is. But, Frank”, he back at him, “What are they planning?”

“Umm”, Frank sips coffee again trying to find the right words, “See, they never tell us everything they plan to avoid… betrays. So I don’t know either.”

“Oh, I get it”, he stops for a moment like he wants to say something but then just shakes his head.

“What?”

“I mean shouldn’t we offer ideas and work together as we’re making the world better?”

“We are working together. That’s what we all do: offering our ideas all the time, having meetings to discuss what’s going on and many other things. But only Boss and the people above her make the whole plan because they know what will work and what won’t.”

“So I guess my potential can be used then”, he laughs and takes a sip, “What are you doing usually?”

That’s the question Frank was afraid of. What he’s supposed to say? “I kill people sometimes?”. Or “You know, I’m the most dangerous out here, because they use me to annihilate the enemies of the Company”? He takes a few seconds to form the best explanation because the Boss has told him that Gerard is against the violence. And it’s his goal rather change his mind or to keep it a secret.

“It’s always different”, he looks away trying to sound casual, “Sometimes I go to other places to find new people that would be useful for us. Sometimes we plan our things together. Diplomatics, mostly”, now he looks at Gerard’s face to find out if his lie is successful.

Way smiles at him, nodding.

“Oh, that sounds great. How you got here? What made you realize that this”, he throws his hands up, putting a lot of sense in ‘this’, “Is important?”

“I’ve always been this way. Growing up in a poor place makes you see all the injustice of the world. And I was lucky enough to find a man, who told me about the Company. About its big aim to make the world better, to change the way things are going”.

“That’s amazing what we are doing, isn’t it?”

“It is. I believe that we actually can change this”.

“Me too. I never knew what to do exactly, I just always had that idea of helping people and the world. Now I see a great way to make it real”, Gerard nods in excitement.

They talk about everything for about half an hour and then decide to meet up in a few days. Frank has to show him how it all works, so he will take him to a meeting with a group of political experts, which are trying to make something about the upcoming presidential election.

Gerard seemed to be extremely excited about that so Frank was glad that he’s so enthusiastic. They leave each other and all he can think about now is the way Gerard talks about the idea of making the world better. It seems like he’s forgotten about why he was doing all of this. Now after this conversation he finally remembers why he has to do all that weird stuff. _To save the world._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still amazed to see your comments!!! I'm not sure if I should write another chapter about their past or get back to the present....


End file.
